Against All Tides
by Dede K
Summary: For almost a decade, Azula lived far away from her past in Crescent Island as a maiden in the Fire Temple. When her father escapes from prison, she is brought back home to Capital City, where she finds herself trapped in an arrangement that involves a long forgotten Avatar.
1. An Unwanted Visitor

I

* * *

Agni had his palms ready for the water she gave him.

As she watched cool liquid pour over granite, it occurred to her that although fire was deemed the essence of life by the sages, Agni still needed water to feed the fire lilies encircling him.

She knelt before the statue, bending to kiss the slightly cracked pebbled path beneath before she sat up. She did this five times a day because, it calmed her rather than gave her a sense of purpose.

Or a mission, as the others called it. Serving the temple she could live without, but in a shrine far from Capital City, her daily meditation kept her sane.

An elderly sage greeted her with a warm smile, to which she granted with a tiny and demure nod. She ignored the lecherous gaze he kept over her backside, and crossed the clouded entry into the temple. Smoke seeping from the fire tombs warmed her, tickled her skin as the heat mingled with her chi.

She could feel the heat fill her veins. And when she used to feed into this surge of power by exerting it in her training, she let it settle instead. Not all chi had to be spent as soon as they came about.

The other fire maidens were seated and lined up by the wide expanse of dark marble, surrounded by pale lit candles. Torches hung, and framed each part of the walls, further illuminating the shrine of the Fire Temple, where the full statue of Agni gazed sternly over the five sages who were seated below with the Great Sage in the middle.

As a child, she despised her trips with her mother to the temple for prayers. Her mother would literally spend hours searching for her in the palace, before dragging her indignant three year old self to the temple. She fondly recalled the woman scolding her while they would pray, wishing for Agni's blessings.

Then after the temple, her mother would take her to the market square outside of Capital City to buy her fire flakes and dine in one of the tiny eateries down in the darker part of the market, near the outskirts of the villages her father always warned her to stay away from. She tugged those thoughts behind as soon as they surfaced. She didn't need that now, especially since she no longer had any hallucinations.

She barely acknowledged upturned noses and withering pointed glares. If there was any part of her personality that remained, even after living as a fire maiden, it was that she still could care less about what people thought of her. Those were for Zuzu to worry about.

A flicker of crimson cloth caught her gaze. Then amber eyes sought her out, eager as she started to walk towards the back. Nala, the youngest and newly bestowed maiden ushered her forward, patting the vacant spot between she and a familiar old hag.

Ever since the young sixteen summers maiden moved into the temple, she always flanked the princess's side. When she was lost trying to adapt into a different environment, Azula was the one who grudgingly showed the maiden around.

Azula was dragged down next to the young girl, who hugged her side briefly while said 'old hag' began to shift away. Her movements weren't discreet.

"Elder Jingfei," she announced in a poisonous tone, eyes gleaming at the shudder of the women's shoulders. "Did you smell smoke last night?"

"What smoke?" the elder asked, her voice as raspy as expected.

"Well perhaps I shouldn't say just smoke," Azula inspected her fingers. "It did smell a bit too sweet for my tastes."

Silvery eyes widened, "I smelt no such thing."

"Oh?" she said, tilting her head. "I could have sworn it was something quite like tobac-"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Princess!"

A round of silent snickers from the other maidens filled the shrine, only to die down when a elderly sage released a phlegm induced cough, his hawk like gaze sweeping over the maidens who shivered in disgust.

Smoking was not permitted on temple grounds, yet all of the maidens were well aware of Jingfei's smoking habit.

Most times outside of the temple in the gardens, many of the maidens gossiped about how the elder would trap herself in a dark storage room and blow steadfastly into her pipe, hidden in a cloud of smoke.

Nala's body shook against Azula, who smirked at the slight tremble of Jingfei's hands despite her rigid posture.

Their first round of prayer was tedious, and silent. She kept her head on the cool marble. Only the flicker of fire, and shifting of cloth was heard. The fire sages who sat on the platform began to chant. Azula kept her eyes closed. She had this short moment of silence to herself.

Then the air felt cooler. A gust blew against her cheek.

She sat up when the other maidens were still down. She scanned the front of the shrine fervently until she narrowed her vision on the man gliding into the temple in distinct robes that clearly defined his status.

The Firelord was the tallest in the temple, his brawny figure intimidating to even an official with the highest rank. His dark hair fell over his shoulders, the top of it pulled up in a topknot. He resembled their father so much, that she had almost didn't recognize him until she spotted his scar. She wondered what her brother wanted at this time.

* * *

"Why am I back here?"

"Because this is your home." he answered.

She watched the tightening of his jaw, knowing that it wasn't because of her that he seemed agitated. The sun bore down through the heavy curtains of the palanquin they were in. Capital City is for the most part quiet, so she was irked by distant cheering and chatter coming from outside.

She may have wanted praise coming back to the palace, but Azula wanted nothing to do with it. She wanted peace, she wanted nothing to do with who she used to be, despite what others believed.

She thought that was the agreement both she and her brother had. For her to be by herself for as long as she wanted.

"What if I don't care?"

"You have no choice. "

'What's the meaning of this Zuko?" she asked earnestly, her face still impassive despite her heightening anxiety. He kept his gaze sideways. "Why am I here?"

"If I could talk right here, I would."

"The agreement was for me to keep my title and spend the rest of my imprisonment in the temple."

"Yes, and right now, I've decided on another way to complete your imprisonment."

She blinked. "Why?"

Finally, her brother let his golden eyes meet hers.

She always wondered how her brother still did well in politics, despite him being a terrible liar. Or was it just that she could read him far better than most? She knew that something was off, and he was trying to tell her that she was hallucinating, but she read him well.

And he knew it, so there was no point in hiding anymore.

"He's escaped from prison."

"Father?"

"Yes. And_ he_ was pardoned. "

She finally understood, settling back against the far end of the palanquin. She could ask her brother about what this had to do with her, but it would be stupid to do so. It had much more to do with her. She listened to the distant cheering and the excited chatter from the outsiders. She paid attention to the way they always came up when their palanquin was near.

"They're cheering for him?" she asked.

"No. Father."

So that's what he's stewing about.

"Is that was this is about?" she asked, her quiet voice belying the churning of her stomach. "Am I suddenly a suspect, dear brother?"

"I just need to make sure."

Her golden eyes flashed. "And how do you intend to assure yourself?"

The Firelord said nothing more, casting his gaze outside of the palanquin again. For the remainder of their trip, she stared at the angry scar over her brother's face. Before, she often didn't think much of it. But now, it only made her uncomfortable. It brought memories she knew were impossible to forget.

"Where have you placed your friend?"

"He's somewhere in the palace. I need some time to stall people," he said. "Distract them with our father while he makes up his mind on what to do next."

"I see." It was a shame. "Have you been communicating with him?"

"Not much."

She nodded.

"You know, you're wrong when you say I'm more ready for this than you are."

Azula scoffed, "I'm not interested."

"I know and it's not like it's possible right now…" she rolled her eyes. "But I can't help but get pissed when they wish me dead."

"Do yourself a favor and not care. People are inherently ungrateful."

She could feel his look of surprise on her. But she merely paid no heed to it. She's used to others who still seem shocked to see a different….her.

The palanquin finally settled. She was led out onto the courtyard of the palace, glancing at the guards who gave her the most honored bow. She noticed the way some did it deeply. _We will still do as you say._ Zuko noticed too, and when he pinned them down with a glare, Azula smirked when they quickly straightened up.

Zuko's arms slipped around hers, tugging her close. They walked down the main corridors. Once they reached the corridors adjacent to the gardens, there were no more guards or servants who stood by to greet them.

When his arms slid around her neck, she let her own slip around his waist. They made a turn into the corridors leading to the living quarters.

When they approached the throne room, she slowed her steps.

She peered into her brother's sheepish gaze, "Can't I sleep first?"

"I'm really sorry."

She snorted in a way that was very unladylike, but Zuko never once cared for her lack of femininity.

He long accepted that fact that she was not like most women, and besides, it only brought on many suitors at her feet, despite the fact that she was a fire maiden who was very much devoted to the temple. Zuko spent more time fighting off her suitors than pummeling poor excuses of men who dared call her superior bending skills a fault in her being a woman.

Removing her hold on her brother's waist, she slipped inside the throne room. She smirked, remembering many days eavesdropping on important war meetings. Because she was a girl, her father wouldn't allow her to attend the meetings until her bending skills and high intellect were too much to pass. If there was anything she truly loved about her father and brother, it was that they didn't care about her gender. There were men who still would have held her back, despite her valuable skills.

The throne room was filled to the rim. Officials, soldiers, and guards flanked the pillars trisecting the hall. They rose to give both she and her brother the highest bow, before they sat back, their eyes roving Azula's form as she strode to her seat, next to the Firelord's own. She rolled her eyes, knowing that if she were in her armor they wouldn't dare look at her that way. A fire maiden was untouchable, as they weren't allowed to get married or perform intercourse. To become a fire maiden was to be a virgin, and a devotee to Agni. Fire maidens were often women who were deemed unfit for marriage. But she always knew that people still regarded her as beautiful, and in the robes of a maiden, it made her all the more desirable.

During her days in the asylum, her memories of she and her mother going to the temple in Crescent Island was what had her begin meditating. Throughout her life, Azula only read books on bending, history, war, and strategy. She read little fiction or anything that had nothing to do with her once ultimate goal. So when she began to read the ancient meditation books choked with dust in the library, she gradually began to change.

She wasn't completely changed, but she enjoyed the peace. She embraced her loneliness after she realized that never did she had a day to herself. Her thoughts were always preoccupied with what her father did or what he said, but never did she have a moment to think about what she did or said. Never did she think without her daily limitations.

Since the age of fifteen, she spent four years for the most part, staying trapped in the library for hours. Then her brother visited, and they finally had a conversation without plotting to kill one another. They spoke. And when she made it known that she wasn't interested in coming back to the palace to serve under house arrest, her stunned sibling hesitantly sent her to the Fire Temple.

She resided there for nine years. And it was quiet, with no distractions. Her brother would send letters, only disclosing facts about how he was. It was good while it lasted. But she hadn't seen her brother in a year, so she supposed some good came out of this inconvenience.

A pair of gray eyes in the shadows were pinned on her, but she didn't pay them any attention, even though she made a mental note of how..._familiar_ they were.

More out of habit than tradition, her brother took her hand and lead her to her seat before he propped himself on his. There were slight murmurs from some of the officials who lightly chattered.

She noted the ones who were still there since her father was dethroned. Gladly, most of them obviously supported the current Firelord. She eyed the elder advisor who was seated far down, close to the entrance of the throne room. Advisor Zhiming gave her a deep nod, obviously showing his true allegiance.

Zuko noticed.

"Why did you still keep him?" she asked silently.

"Keep your enemies closer." he murmured.

_As expected,_ she silently agreed.

She could feel those gray eyes again, but she kept her gaze on the dozens of officials in the throne room. Murmurs died down. Silence was granted when Zuko's stern gaze swept over the room. The flames behind them grumbled ominously, it's heat flickering against her back. She could feel the tension ebbing from her brother's body, knowing his position. Yes, everyone seemed to be allies, but now that their father was nowhere to be found, their allegiance were going to be tested. Zuko was both conjuring a plan and trying to figure them out.

"My lord, if I may begin the meeting?"

Zuko nodded.

"Go on."

The advisor, a woman who looked close to her age, began to speak. Azula saw her striking blue eyes in contrast to her brown hair. She knew that this was the famed Sumato, who had effectively won a debate against the Earth King himself. "We have gotten word that former lord Ozai is on his way to the Earth Kingdom."

"Which part?"

"We-"

Zhiming interrupted, "No word on that yet, my lord."

Sumato fumed silently, but did not speak. It was disrespectful to do so, since Zhiming was her elder. But Azula cared nothing about rules that didn't give her what she wanted, so she spoke, "Advisor Zhiming."

He gave her another deep nod.

"Yes, my princess."

"I'm sure your lord would want to hear what Advisor Sumato wanted to say."

A pause. Zhiming nodded again, this time a bit more quickly. "My apologies."

She felt herself being watched again, and as the meeting started to heat up, she let her eyes wander. She looked to her right, seeing a figure sit near the wall of the throne room, behind the dark line pillars. He sat there, and it was likely that no one was aware he attended the meeting. Just as he hid in the shadows, he was the person most didn't want to discuss.

He sat with his legs crossed, He didn't wear the monk robes she expected him to wear. But this man had been in prison for quite some time, and he was supposed to hide in the palace. Robes wouldn't do. He dressed in heavy armor lined with gold. His hair had grown, a dark unruly mass over his head with a beard forming into a goatee. And as she suspected, his arrow was no longer there.

Gray eyes were blank. The man jutted his chin at one the guards, who started to doze off. Then the man pretended to cough, and blew a tiny gust of air towards the guard's back. She watched the guard almost trip over one of the officers below him. She could tell that her brother didn't notice. The man smirked tiredly.

It was a surprise to her that despite a decade spent in Capital Prison, the Avatar's infuriating sense of humor had never left.

She looked away.

"So do we wait until he makes another move?" an official asked.

Zuko said, "We still have yet to retain more information from the one who helped him escape, am I correct?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Then we wait," the firelord said. "We interrogate the guard who assisted in my father's escape."

"But what if they refuse to break their allegiance?" Zhiming asked, his brows furrowing.

Zuko merely stared at him, "They will talk."

"Most supporters of former lord Ozai aren't easy to crack."

Zuko nodded, with a sharp look the officials in the room recognized. She knew that it took some time for her brother to be feared in the Fire Nation. After his coronation, several attempts to take his life were made. Zuko gradually changed, and he morphed back into the silent boy he used to be when their mother left. What was different about his keeping things to himself, was that he did a lot more observing. _And listening..._

The Fire Nation struggled economically right after the aftermath of the war. Zuko had to bear a few years dealing with the politicians who made it known that it was better with Ozai around. He tried motivational tactics, but the civilians did not budge. Her brother had to fight for a stand in the hostile political environment. By now, most knew that they could not double cross him.

"I know," Zuko affirmed. "Father's supporters will always be.._.indebted_ to him."

Some of the officials began to snicker. The Fire princess flickered her gaze over the those gray eyes that still were pinned on her. For what reason, she did not know. Then it dawned on her that she has not seen the Av- or the man since she was fourteen summers. The last time he saw her was when she was in her armor. She was now wearing a dark fitting kimono ornamented by gold embroidered dragons across her chest. Her hair fell past her shoulders to the small of her back. She reckoned that she might seem almost unrecognizable, since she was nearing her twenty eight summer, and she wore nothing on her face.

"What do we do about the Avatar, my lord?" Zhiming asked.

"That is for me to decide." Zuko answered quickly.

Gray eyes narrowed in the far corner.

"Shouldn't we be informed of the arrangement?"

"No. The arrangement isn't to be disclosed now."

"It should." Zhiming said, glaring at the Firelord. "The arrangement concerning your sister has much to do with the welfare of the nation, my lord."

_Arrangement?_

She still kept her cool demeanor. The man wanted her to react. But...?

"My lord, I believe my counterpart speaks the truth. We should know when this should take place."

Azula sighed, and murmured, "What are they talk about?"

"I'll explain." he whispered.

Zhiming rose, hands clasped. He's not letting this go.

"Princess, your brother was supposed to discuss the betrothal during this meeting."

_Betrothal?_

She tightened her hold on the fabric over her thighs, "Oh yes, I'm well aware of that. There is no need to disclose the information now-"

"Oh, but there should." Zhiming inclined his head, raising suspicious glances. "After all, your betrothal to an ex convict should hold importance over this meeting."

He did not say Avatar, but ex-convict.

The man in the shadows grew tense.

She merely tilted her head. Her face was as impassive as ever, but inside, the chi she retained this morning threatened to shoot out. She was beyond pissed.

"I understand your concern, Zhiming," she said with a tight smile. "But that is enough for now."

The elderly man fumed, but took his seat. As the meeting began to wrap up, Zuko beckoned his closest henchmen forward. Azula knew what he had asked the guard to do. And it seemed that Zhiming knew too, for his skin soon grew pallid and his hands trembled.

Most forgot Zuko was still Ozai's son.

She pretended she didn't notice the two guards take Zhiming outside of the throne room. During the last hour of the meeting, she kept her eyes away from narrowed gray ones.


	2. A Silent Plea

**II**

* * *

The growing warmth over her face was enough for her to awaken, and stretch lazily over crimson silk. She gazed at indigo skies tinted with the rising sun's hue, just as a surge of irritation rushed through her.

She remembered screaming yesterday, and her brother's stunned look at her behavior. Vague memories of slamming the door in front of his face, leaving him to plead until he finally relented and walked away, dawned on her like a slithering eel creeping under her bed.

She was beyond livid.

The Fire Princess swung her legs over to sit just in time for the knocking on her door. From pure instinct, she didn't react to the two servants entering. With a small wave of her hand, she lit the candle over her dresser. She felt one of the servants watch the candle, then her, and realized that it was the first time she had ever bended in years. This time though, she noticed that the flickering flame she generated wasn't blue in the first few seconds it lit.

The servant who placed a covered tray on her other dresser glanced at her. They shared the same gaze, and for that short time, Azula noted the way the servant's eyes narrowed. When the other servant murmured for her to begin disrobing, she shook her head. She kept her eyes on the first one, the one with long raven hair just as hers and hardened cerulean orbs.

There was a small scar over her right brow, and a thin line over her left wrist. Her left hand was a wooden one.

Perhaps it was her being foolish, or hopeless over her situation. Her imprisonment. But Azula asked the young girl in a mocking voice, "What is your name?"

The girl continued to glare at the Fire Princess, who began to chuckle.

"Speak, Kyoko…" the second servant murmured near Azula.

"Kyoko, isn't it?" the girl said nothing but lifted her chin defiantly. "Come...tell me if you think I deserve this."

The girl clenched her fists at her sides.

"This is just going to be between us…" Azula said.

"I'm still a prisoner. My title means nothing. I'm sure you would want to take this chance to let it all out, Kyoko."

"Kyoko please just let it go-"

"I wish you had been dead."

The girl said this calmly, as if she were giving directions to a fellow civilian. Her bluntness was abrupt, indirectly lifting the Fire Princess out of her episode.

For a moment, Azula thought about how she didn't even remember any of her servant's names, or recognize their faces. They were nothing.

Yet here she was, rendered speechless by a servant's words.

"My mother was from the Southern Water Tribe," Kyoko announced with pride. "She was brought here after being kidnapped by the Fire Nation when she was only fourteen. She was raped and beaten by your father because apparently he needed a punching bag inside his bedroom.

"You were the one who told your father that my mother stole a ring he was missing, knowing very well that you did it. And you didn't care, because it was easy to blame a mere 'peasant'. My mother was taken away that night by guardsmen and I've never seen her since." Kyoko said, her voice still controlled.

Azula said nothing. Kyoko's eyes soon narrowed, and her fists unclenched.

"You don't deserve this treatment because it isn't enough! You've understood nothing." she spat, taking a step forward.

"You think you've changed just because you happened to lock yourself in a library reading stupid meditation books and disappearing into the Fire Temple for almost a fucking decade? You think it takes that to redeem yourself-"

"That's enough, Kyoko!"

"Would killing me suffice you then?" Azula asked, the corner of her lips curling up.

"I've put poison in your food thirteen times when you were here. But each time I tried to follow my plan, my friend here manages to find out about it. You should thank her...princess."

The other servant, an older woman, rushed over to Kyoko and held her arm to lead her out. But Kyoko didn't move until her friend let her arm go. The Fire Princess merely looked away, beginning to disrobe. For the next few hours, she was bathed in a tub of scented flowers, then lathered up in fire lily oil.

When she dressed into a fresher set of her earlier outfit, she bade the servant to leave her bedroom. She never thanked her for saving her life five times, in fact, she was so exhausted that-

BANG!

A loud noise dragged her out of her reverie. Booted steps thundered down the corridors near her door. She rushed in time to see the dozen guards crowded outside of a set of double doors at the end of the corridors. Ends of their spears pummeled hardened iron and oak. .

"Avatar Aang!"

That's where he was all this time.

Another round of blows. The leader nodded towards the other guards, who formed together and broke their way into the room with their shields. Azula wasn't fazed when a strong gust of air blew them back, and a man in dark pants rushed forward to grab the throats of two guards to haul them up.

She strode over to the commotion. The guards who noticed her paved her way. The man she was supposedly betrothed to blinked when she came nearby.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Gray eyes narrowed.

"When was it your business?"

"Since I was born here in this very palace. Unhand these guards."

His voice was much deeper than she remembered. The way he regarded her was enough to make anyone feel intimidated, but she was used to men being this way.

It didn't matter how small she was next to his overwhelming frame. She wrinkled her nose at the musk seeping from his pits, even though his messy dark hair, chiseled face, and gray eyes almost faltered her speech.

"Tell them when I'm ready, I'll come over to meet Zuko."

She looked taken aback.

"That was what this was all about?" she asked the two guards who were still hung in the air.

"Fire...lord Zuko…" the first guard choked.

Azula glanced at Aang, who released his grip. The two guards toppled back against the other guards, simultaneously tipping backwards with the weight of their armor. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

The guard who spoke earlier, cleared his throat, sat up, and said, "Three hours ago Firelord Zuko requested for the Avatar to join him in a meeting…"

"The meeting I was supposed to attend later?"

"Yes, princess."

"And?"

"...well…"

"Well what?!"

"He didn't show up, princess. We were afraid he was attempting to escape-"

"So the Firelord was the one who sent you to attack him?"

"He asked us to check to him…"

"By breaking down his door?"

The guard lowered his head, "I'm sorry, princess, but he just wouldn't answer the door and we didn't hear anything…"

"So you goons all assume he was off on another rampage?"

The man in question scoffed, straightening his neck before he gave the Fire Princess a lasting look that irked her.

He turned around to reveal the infamous scar she gave him years ago, before slamming the doors shut behind him. The Fire Princess swore that she saw a slender figure moving on the four poster bed in his room before he closed it.

The nerve of him.

The guards soon started to shuffle back in defeat. Azula glared at the doors before she made her way over to her bedroom, snorting at the memory of having chased this same man all over the world when he was a boy. Now a man.

Come off it, Azula.

She spotted the food Kyo left over her dresser, suddenly remembering what the girl had told her not too long ago. Her chest tightened. Kyoko's words still didn't leave her. She thought of them over and over again, waiting until the signal to leave her quarters came.

* * *

"The marriage will be nothing but an alliance to demonstrate the Fire Nation's devotion to restoring peace and the Avatar, despite what the other 'nations' believe."

A small cough from an Earth Kingdom ambassador echoed in one of the secret chambers of the Royal Palace. The chamber was set up similarly like the throne room itself, except that it was more homey, comfortable, and the Firelord wasn't seated near a line of flames.

Azula silently watched another Earth Kingdom ambassador take a scroll from the table and slam it on the middle aged one's head.

The sage who spoke paused, eyeing the two elderly officials who turned up their noses and pretended that the ambassador didn't have a bulging bump peering out of his topknot. She noted the set of the sage's jaw, and the tightening of his fists over the surface.

Hours spent in this insufferable meeting was getting to him, and all of them.

The Avatar was seated in the corner of the chamber, his half lidded gaze right over her. She took ahold of the fabric over her lap, biting her inner cheek. This meeting has gone on for too long.

"The marriage does not permit for both the princess and Avatar to have a child, since the princess is a fire maiden. This arrangement is only needed because the princess is required to do her part in the betrothal. It is a way of ensuring peace and…"

"...letting him know that she is not a part of his plan to dethrone the Firelord." a Northern Water Tribe ambassador finished for the sage, setting his stony gaze on the Fire Princess seated next to the elderly sage.

"My sister isn't a traitor."

The Firelord wasn't dressed in his distinct robes, but Azula knew that her brother didn't need that to assume his status. "The idea is to present an image of harmony. I understand that Princess Azula is now a fire maiden who shouldn't have to endure in any activity that could threaten her position. You do understand that, don't you, Princess Azula?"

She nodded. "I do." The oath she made was altruistic, and it strengthened her commitment to herself. Besides, it wasn't as if she had a chance of having a chance to fall in…

"I do, my lord." she said again.

"So you will do as commanded?"

"Yes."

She felt her brother's stare, but paid no heed to it.

"And will you, Avatar, agree to this arrangement?"

The other ambassadors hesitated, glancing at the man seated in the corner of the chamber. He waited, eyeing Zuko, whose eyes pleaded for him to cooperate. Azula noticed that this was always the case between her brother and the Avatar.

"Will my pardon be finalized?"

Zuko shook his head. "We're not sure yet. But this arrangement can hold it off."

Another moment passed, before the Avatar nodded grudgingly. The Fire Princess made a mental note of what he just said.

"Yes."

"Good, then this meeting is over."

They were set on the palanquin as soon as they left the chambers. The sun was already setting. She ignored her brother's gaze, looking out through the curtains at the high mountains that were known landmarks of Crescent Island. She had to collect her remaining belongings at the Fire Temple.

"Are you still ignoring me?"

She flickered her gaze over to him.

"Why do you ask?" she asked dryly.

"...I deserved that."

She scoffed. "Not more than I do…"

The palanquin continued over the rocky path towards the temple, Azula thought she caught a glimpse of the sage's own palanquin. In a short time, they landed near the temple. She never waited for her brother's words when she left the palanquin into the building adjacent to it, seated right by the vast gardens. Crysethematums brushed her ankles as she strode over to the dormitories.

Through instinct, she made a bow to the small statue of Agni. Her sleeping quarters wasn't too far, located in the north wing of the building. The long hallway was quiet, dimly lit by a few torches down the hall. She heard no one. The maidens were probably praying for the fourth time in the shrine by now.

She gently pushed herself inside, surprised at the sleeping form of Nala, who laid on her bed. The princess noted the way the girl's round face was illuminated by a candle lit in the corner of the room. Long lashes fell atop rosy cheeks.

Just when Azula began to pack, golden eyes tiredly peered open.

"Are you really leaving?"

Azula paused. "I am."

She heard the girl sit atop of her bed. She continued packing, folding most of her similar garments inside a small duffel bag. She didn't have much to take in this room, the room she wanted to hide in for the rest of her life. The room that served well as her sanctuary.

When she finished packing, she went to her dresser, sliding the first shelf open. The chest she wanted to take wasn't there.

Nala shifted, and Azula knew.

She turned to watch her friend's tearful expression, her voice controlled, "What did you do with the box I had here?"

"Did you reply to any of them?"

"What did you do with the box?" Azula asked again.

"Answer me!" Nala yelled, standing up. "Did you reply to any of his letters?"

Azula said nothing. She could only look at the trembling of her hands.

"Why, Elder Azula?"

Azula slumped against the dresser, wrapping her arms around her legs. She could only look at the trembling of her hands. Nala was quick to settle herself against her, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I didn't."

"Are you sure?"

Azula nodded. "Yes. I didn't do it."

The girl sniffed.

"I believe you."

"Are you going to tell?"

The maiden shook her head. The princess sighed shakily.

"Are you going to tell your brother?" Nala asked.

Azula said nothing..

"When I met you, I was afraid of you." Nala said. "I lived in the village, so I never met you. But I heard stories….mostly bad.

"Then next thing I knew, you were the first person I met in the temple when I moved in. I just knew it was you, because you were different that way. Anyone could just tell because you were the most quiet one.

"You gave me a tour of the temple, while I was scared that you were going to say something bad to me."

Nala laughed, tightening her arms around Azula's shoulders.

"I believe you." she affirmed just when her friend's dam broke. "I believe you, Elder Azula."

Azula continued to sob quietly, her chest aching each onslaught of fresh tears. She made no sound.

"But are you that afraid of him?"

She hesitated. She knew that she still loved this man, this man who was there when no one wasn't. Her father.

"Yes."

Nala moved until she was seated in front of her elder. "You have to promise me that you won't ever reply to any one of these letters."

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't go back there," Nala pleaded, taking milky hands into hers. "Please, promise that you'll do good...just for yourself."

"...I promise."

"And I hope you mean that."

She nodded. If only it were that easy. "I promise, Nala."

* * *

Blood splattered this time on the ground. The old man has been having his coughing fits again. Little Udar watched the old man in his father's bedroom, his emerald eyes staring at the way he hunched over a porcelain bowl held out by his mother.

He didn't like him, and his father warned him not to get close to the old man, who always looked as if he wanted to kill him whenever he had to serve him food.

"No messenger hawk arrived this morning?" the old man asked after Udar's mother took away the bow. The man stared at his father, who had a sheet of sweat over his forehead.

"No, my lord."

..

..

"Send another one."

"But she will-"

"Send another message."

Udar watched his father sigh.

"And what if she refuses to respond, my lord?"

"My daughter will respond." the old man said, his voice hoarse from his sickening cough. "Send her flowers this time."

"Yes my lord."

The messenger hawk was sent that late night, and Udar watched it soar high up until it was only a speck in the dark skies. He quietly wished for whoever was supposed to answer the letter to respond soon, so that the old man could finally leave his home.

* * *

**End Note**

_Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites, alerts, and so on. I will answer your questions soon. Feel free to comment and express your thoughts on this chapter. Stay tuned for the latter week._


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